Roundball

ABSTRACT

Roundball is a sports event that is based on the same primitive activity that forms the basis of three other games, namely, basketball, 21st Century Challenge America Basketball Game, and Method for Playing a Basketball-Type Game. The latter two are patented. All four are singular games by virtue of their completely different formats. Roundball games are composed of rounds, like boxing matches; and the winner of the game is the team that accumulates the majority of the points in each of the majority of the rounds. Roundball games will be suspenseful from start to finish, with clear and reasonable results. There is good reason to expect that professional Roundball will become a strong competitor for a share of the multi-billion-dollar entertainment industry market. There is no record of anyone else having conceived the same idea; which is strong empirical evidence that your petitioner is the inventor of Roundball.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Patent Application is a continuation-in-part, and is related to, and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/987,303, entitled “Patent on Match-play Basketball”, by Lee H. Wilson, filed on Aug. 1, 2013; and made special on Dec. 2, 2013, under 37 CFR 1.102 (c)(1).

FIELD OF USE

The present invention relates to professional sports events as high-end consumer products; and specifically to a new sports event which has the potential to become a major competitor in the vast entertainment industry market.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Every game is born as a basic idea. Hereinafter, such an idea shall be called the master plan. An extensive collection of definitions and directions are required for the development of a master plan into a full-fledged, competitive game. Such definitions and directions are called “rules.” Rules are completely dependent upon the master plan for their existence. One cannot compose a rule for which there is no game.

A game's master plan is constant and unchangeable; but a game's rules are always subject to esoteric changes by the various organizations that produce the games. To replace a game's master plan with a different master plan is to create a different game.

A Master Plan comprises three sections, i.e., (1) Identity (2) Activity and (3) Format. The activity alone is not a game. For example, the act of skipping flat stones across the surface of a placid pond is an activity. Similarly, pitching a ball into a basket is an activity.

The making of an activity into a competitive game requires formatting, to specify how the game begins, how it proceeds, how it ends and how a winner is selected. A singular activity can be formatted into a variety of games. For example, “playing cards” is an activity. That activity has been formatted into a great number of distinctly different games, such as Poker, Bridge, Gin Rummy, et al.

Basketball's master plan was conceived by Dr. James Naismith, in 1891. Its activity consists of players trying to score points for their respective teams by tossing a ball into a basket. Neither Dr. Naismith nor anyone else could conceive of any natural way to format the game, so they had to resort to setting a time-limit for containment, and designating the team that accumulates the most points as the winner

Since then various organizations have augmented the game's master plan with copious rules. Among them are:

The bottom of the basket has been removed.

The size of the ball has been increased.

The dribble has been legalized.

The three-point field goal has been introduced

The 24-second shot clock has been introduced.

Those major refinements and all other refinements are rules. The game is still basketball, and Dr. Naismith's master plan is still intact.

Some time ago, your petitioner realized that Dr. Naismith's master plan had the makings of a different, more entertaining and more equitable game for spectators and players alike. Petitioner proceeded to create such a game, by inventing a format that is the very antithesis of basketball's format.

The invention, to be called Roundball, has the potential to become a powerful competitor of basketball in the entertainment industry market, because, in spite of the great popularity and the great financial success of professional basketball today, myriad potential customers shun that product because of these two imperfections in the format:

-   -   (1) They find the game monotonous. Their common complaint is         that “If you see the last ten minutes you have seen the whole         game.”     -   (2) They find one-point “victories” to be unfair and         disappointingly unsatisfying.

Doubtless, myriad people have tried to find a solution to those problems, over the past 123 years, without success—until now. Roundball has neither of them.

Roundball is not the first game to use primitive basketball as its inspiration. Prior art includes:

-   -   U.S. Pat. No. 7,641,574 (Steen) entitled “21st Century Challenge         America Basketball Game” is a method of playing basketball. Said         method comprises a unique playing surface, a unique goal and         unique scoring process.     -   U.S. Pat. No. 7,011,311 (Hochfeld) entitled “Method for Playing         a Basketball-Type Game” is a method for playing a game with a         ball and a basket assembly, which comprises at least two         openings that can accommodate the ball, is mounted to a ceiling.         One or more players are supine, below the basket assembly.         Players try to score points for their respective teams by         throwing the ball from the supine position into the closest         opening.

So, with the patent of Roundball, there would be four games with formats based on the same activity: the venerable public domain game and three patented games.

Surely, the monetary value of an invention must figure prominently in determining its patentability. Your petitioner points out that, patent in hand, he would find it very easy to assemble a group of investors to found the American Roundball League (ARL), as an exclusive producer and marketer of professional Roundball games.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The activity in the invention is similar to the activity in the game of basketball; however, Roundball's format is based on a totally different structure, it employs an iconoclastically different score-keeping system and it has a dramatically different objective.

Roundball is a consumer product apart from basketball, because its format is the very antithesis of basketball's format, in that:

-   -   (1) Each game is suspenseful from start to finish.     -   (2) The winner is not necessarily the team that accumulates the         most points.     -   (3) At the start, it is not possible to predict how long a game         will last.     -   (4) The total number of points accumulated by each opponent         during a game is simply an irrelevant statistic.

The invention is a product of the professional sports-event industry, which is a major segment of the vast entertainment industry. An organization that produces and markets sports events is clearly in the business of making and selling consumer products at retail, in the form of tickets which permit the buyer to witness the creation of the product, from start to finish.

Applicant contends that Roundball is clearly eligible for patent in that it will become a separate, tangible, visible and valuable product which will compete with similar consumer products for a share of a multi-billion-dollar annual market.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Your petitioner has invented a master plan as described herein for a new game. Said master plan comprises three sections:

-   -   Section A: Identity. The game is called Roundball.     -   Section B: Activity. Players shall try to gain points for their         respective teams by trying to pitch a ball into an elevated         basket; while players on the opposing team shall try to prevent         them from doing so successfully.     -   Section C: Format: A game shall be composed of a number of         rounds, like boxing matches; and the winner of the game shall be         the team that accumulates the majority of the points in each of         the majority of the rounds.

Roundball and basketball would become two highly-competitive, consumer products in the entertainment industry. The differences between the two are clear. To illustrate that point, below are line-scores of two hypothetical games as they would appear in a newspaper.

First is the line-score of a hypothetical, 48-minute, professional basketball game, recorded at three-minute intervals.

Team A: 4 7 4 1 5 6 5 12 4 6 3 14  5 8 6 8 = 98 Team B: 3 2 6 8 0 9 8 11 5 3 5 13 4 7 6 10 = 99

After 48 minutes of grueling work, the Team B players would win the Basketball game by a single point.

The second line-score is for the Roundball version of the same game. Scores are recorded for each of the sixteen, 3-minute rounds.

Team A: 4 7 4 1 5 6 5 12 4 6 3 14 5 8 6 x = W 2/1 Team B: 3 2 6 8 0 9 8 11 5 3 5 13 4 7 6 x

Team A wins the Roundball game, 2-and-1; i.e., having a two-round lead with only one round left. Team A was dormie at 2-and-2 after 14 rounds. When the 15^(th) round was tied, the game was ended. A sixteenth round would have been redundant.

Note that rounds 1, 3, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 14 were decided by either one or two points. That makes eight exciting climaxes for Roundball, compared with one exciting climax for basketball.

Clearly, the hypothetical example shows that Roundball is based on a totally different structure than basketball. It employs an iconoclastically different score-keeping system, and it has a dramatically different objective.

Other differences between the two formats are as follows:

Basketball: Play is restricted to a predetermined, precise amount of playing time. Roundball: Play is restricted to a number of rounds, similar to a boxing match.

Basketball: It is a contest. An inferior performance cannot win. Roundball: It is a game. An inferior performance can win.

Basketball: There may be an exciting climax at the end of a game. Roundball: There may be an exciting climax at the end of each round.

Basketball: Point-totals are vital. The winner of the game is whichever team holds the lead at the final buzzer, even if it is only one point. Roundball: Point-totals are irrelevant. The winner of the majority of the rounds is the winner of the game.

Basketball: A game endures for the full time-limit, regardless of how big the point-spread may become. Roundball: A game is ended whenever one opponent has gained an insuperable lead.

Basketball: (No comparison.) Roundball: When one team gains a lead equal to the number of rounds yet to be played, it makes for a very suspenseful situation. Such a situation is called “dormie.”

Basketball: Tied games go into 5-minute overtime periods. Roundball: Tied games go into extra rounds

Throughout this application, various Patents are referenced by number and inventor. The disclosures of these documents in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this specification in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains.

It is intended that the metes and bounds of the present invention are to be determined by the appended claims, rather than by the language of the above specification, and that all such alternatives, modifications and variations which form a conjointly cooperative equivalent are intended to be within the spirit and scope of these claims. 

I claim:
 1. A game to be played by athletes, in the process of which the players shall try to gain points for their respective teams by trying to pitch a ball into an elevated basket, while players on the opposing team shall try to prevent them from doing so successfully; and which said game shall be composed of a number of rounds, like boxing matches; and the winner of the game shall be the team that accumulates the majority of the points in each of the majority of the rounds.
 2. The game, per claim One, as a consumer product to be sold at retail, in the form of tickets which permit the buyer to witness the creation of the product from start to finish.
 3. The game, per claim One, as a piece of intellectual property in the form of guidelines for an impromptu stage production, in the form of an athletic event to be performed in an enclosed facility.
 4. A game to be played by professional athletes, in the process of which the players shall try to gain points for their respective teams by trying to pitch a ball into an elevated basket, while players on the opposing team shall try to prevent them from doing so successfully; and which said game shall be composed of a number of rounds, like boxing matches; and the winner of the game shall be the team that accumulates the majority of the points in each of the majority of the rounds.
 5. The game, per claim Four, as a consumer product to be sold at retail, in the form of tickets which permit the buyer to witness the creation of the product from start to finish.
 6. The game, per claim Four, as a piece of intellectual property in the form of guidelines for an impromptu stage production, in the form of an athletic event to be performed in an enclosed facility. 